Farewell Dear Prophet
A few weeks ago we had a satellite Stake Conference and our prophet, President Gordon B Hinckley, spoke to us. He looked a little unsteady, but delivered a wonderful message about the importance of respect within marriage and family. It was pretty clear that his testimony and concern for all was still strong and vibrant even if his body was fading. So it wasn’t too surprising to hear of his passing tonight. He mentioned frequently that he missed his wife terribly after her passing, so it is comforting to know that he is now with her again.
There is a very nice article about his full life on the Deseret Morning News:
President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through explosive growth during his more than 12 years as president, died at 7 p.m. today of causes incident to age, surrounded by family. He was 97.
He traveled the world during his tenure, which was marked by a number of significant milestones, including the “Proclamation to the World on the Family,” construction of dozens of small temples and the creation of several new quorums of the Seventy. He called for increased fellowshipping of new converts and reaching out to other faiths. Church membership has grown from 9 million to more than 13 million members during his administration.
His ministry was characterized by a strong desire to be out among the people. He traveled more than half a million miles and spoke to hundreds of thousands of members in more than 60 nations, employing his mastery of electronic media to bring unprecedented press attention to the church.
Even though he was 97 years old, I still feel a little shocked. I feel a mix of emotions actually….grateful that we have had him as our leader, deep love for him, sadness and then of course happy that he is with his sweetheart again!
A sad, unexpected, but joyous passing.
What a beautiful picture of President Hinckley.
What I found interesting was that the reporters said most people met the news of the Prophet’s passing with a fair amount of rejoicing. And that while some were moved to tears, most were very happy he had gone one to join his beloved wife. I was surprised at the news, but I’m not sure why since I knew he had been in bad health recently. He always seemed so energetic though, maybe that’s why it felt so unexpected. He was truly a great, great man.
thanks for your post.